Display device

ABSTRACT

A display device including a pixel electrode disposed in an opening area; a common electrode of which at least a region is disposed to be overlapped with the pixel electrode; a gate line extending along a first direction in a non-opening area surrounding the opening area and transmitting a gate signal to the pixel electrode; a data line extending along a second direction different from the first direction in the non-opening area, and transmitting a data signal to the pixel electrode; and a dummy line disposed to be overlapped with the data line in the non-opening area and electrically connected to the common electrode.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2019-0173424 filed on Dec. 23, 2019, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to a display device.

Description of the Background

As information society develops, various types of display devices havebeen developed. Recently, various display devices, such as a liquidcrystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), and an organiclight emitting display (OLED) have been used.

Recently, a touch screen capable of displaying an image and sensing auser's touch has been widely used. The touch screen may have a structureof an add-on type, an on-cell type, and an in-cell type. Among them, thetouch screen having the in-cell type structure can reduce the thicknessand improve durability of the display device.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a display device that canprevent a vertical band phenomenon from occurring at a boundary of touchblocks due to a dummy line in an in-cell type touch display device.

In addition, the present disclosure provides a display device in which adummy line is electrically connected to a common electrode in asub-pixel provided at a boundary of touch blocks.

A display device according to an aspect of the present disclosureincludes a pixel electrode disposed in an opening area; a commonelectrode of which at least a region is disposed to be overlapped withthe pixel electrode; a gate line extending along a first direction in anon-opening area surrounding the opening area and transmitting a gatesignal to the pixel electrode; a data line extending along a seconddirection different from the first direction in the non-opening area,and transmitting a data signal to the pixel electrode; and a dummy linedisposed to be overlapped with the data line in the non-opening area andelectrically connected to the common electrode.

The dummy line may receive a common voltage transmitted to the commonelectrode during a display period of one frame.

The dummy line may be formed between the data line and the pixelelectrode.

The display device may further include a bridge electrode connecting thecommon electrode and the dummy line.

The bridge electrode and the pixel electrode may be disposed on the samelayer.

The bridge electrode may be an island-shaped electrode separated fromthe pixel electrode.

The common electrode may be formed for each of touch blocks, the touchblocks each including a plurality of sub-pixels.

The dummy line disposed at a boundary between the touch blocks eachincluding the plurality of sub-pixels may be electrically connected tothe common electrode.

The display device may further include a sensing line extending alongthe second direction in the non-opening area and transmitting a commonvoltage or a touch scan voltage to the common electrode.

A display device according to an aspect of the present disclosureincludes a substrate on which an opening area and a non-opening areasurrounding the opening area are defined; a first conductive layerdisposed on the substrate and including a gate line extending along afirst direction in the non-opening area; a second conductive layerdisposed on the first conductive layer and including a data lineextending along a second direction different from the first direction inthe non-opening area; a dummy line disposed on the second conductivelayer to be overlapped with the data line in the non-opening area; acommon electrode disposed on the second conductive layer in the openingarea; and a pixel electrode disposed on the common electrode in theopening area, wherein the dummy line is electrically connected to thecommon electrode.

The display device may further include a bridge electrode disposed onthe same layer as the common electrode in the non-opening area, andconnecting the common electrode and the dummy line.

The bridge electrode is an island-shaped electrode separated from thepixel electrode.

The common electrode may be formed for each of touch blocks, the touchblocks each including a plurality of sub-pixels.

The dummy line disposed at a boundary between the touch blocks eachincluding the plurality of sub-pixels is electrically connected to thecommon electrode.

A display device according to an aspect of the present disclosureincludes a display panel in which sub-pixels, common electrodes eachdisposed corresponding to one or more of the sub-pixels, and pixelelectrodes of which at least a region is disposed to be overlapped withthe common electrode are disposed; a gate driving unit applying a gatesignal to the sub-pixels; a data driving unit applying a data signal tothe sub-pixels; and a touch driving unit applying a common voltage or atouch scan voltage to the common electrodes, wherein the display panelincludes gate lines transmitting gate signals to the pixel electrodes;data lines transmitting data signals to the pixel electrodes; and dummylines each disposed to be overlapped with the data lines andelectrically connected to at least one of the common electrodes.

In the display device according to the aspects, when the data voltageapplied to a source electrode of the transistor is transferred to thedummy line, the voltage of the dummy line may be stabilized by applyinga common voltage to the dummy line.

In the display device according to the aspects of the presentdisclosure, an electric field is formed between the pixel electrode andthe dummy line to which the data voltage is transferred, therebypreventing a vertical band phenomenon from occurring.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate aspects of the disclosure and,together with the description, serve to explain the principles of thedisclosure.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a displaydevice according to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically illustrating an area of a displaypanel illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a touch block of a displaypanel shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating a layout of a sub-pixel according toan aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view illustrating area AA of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-IF of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating a layout of a sub-pixel according toanother aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged plan view illustrating area BB of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV′ of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, aspects of the present disclosure will be described withreference to drawings. In this specification, when a component (orregion, layer, part, etc.) is referred to as being “on”, “connected” to,or “joined” to other component, it means that the component can bedirectly connected/coupled to the other component or a third componentcan be arranged between them.

The same reference numbers refer to the same components. In addition, inthe drawings, the thickness, ratio, and dimension of the components areexaggerated for effective description of technical contents. An “and/or”includes one or more combinations capable of being defined by theassociated configurations.

Terms such as “first” and “second” may be used to describe variouscomponents, but the components are not limited by the terms. The termsare used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from othercomponents. For example, the first component may be referred to as thesecond component without departing from a scope of right of the presentaspects, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to asthe first component. Singular expressions include plural expressionsunless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Terms such as “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper”, etc. are used todescribe the association of components shown in the figures. The termsare relative concepts and are explained based on the directionsindicated in the drawings.

It should be understood that terms such as “comprise” or “have”, etc.are intended to indicate that a feature, number, step, operation,component, part, or combination thereof is described in thespecification, and that the possibility of the presence or addition ofone or more of other features or numbers, steps, operations, components,parts, or these combinations thereof is not excluded in advance.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a displaydevice according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, a display device 1 includes a timing control unit10, a gate driving unit 20, a data driving unit 30, a touch driving unit40, and a display panel 50.

The timing control unit 10 may receive an image signal RGB and a controlsignal CS from the outside. The image signal RGB may include a pluralityof grayscale data. The control signal CS may include, for example, ahorizontal synchronization signal, a vertical synchronization signal,and a main clock signal.

The timing control unit 10 processes the image signal RGB and thecontrol signal CS according to an operating condition of the displaypanel 50, to generate and output an image data, a gate drive controlsignal CONT1, a data drive control signal CONT2, and a touch drivingcontrol signal CONT3.

The gate driving unit 20 may be connected to sub-pixels PX of thedisplay panel 50 through a plurality of gate lines GL1 to GLn. The gatedriving unit 20 may generate gate signals on the basis of the gatedriving control signal CONT1 output from the timing control unit 10. Thegate driving unit 20 may provide the generated gate signals to thesub-pixels PXs through the plurality of gate lines GL1 to GLn.

The data driving unit 30 may be connected to sub-pixels PX of thedisplay panel 50 through a plurality of data lines DL1 to DLm. The datadriving unit 30 may generate data signals on the basis of the datadriving control signal CONT2 and the image data DATA output from thetiming control unit 10. The data driving unit 30 may provide thegenerated data signals to the sub-pixels PX through the plurality ofdata lines DL1 to DLm.

The touch driving unit 40 may be connected to sub-pixels PX of thedisplay panel 50 through a plurality of sensing lines SL1 to SLm. Thetouch driving unit 40 may generate a touch scan signal on the basis ofthe touch driving control signal CONT3 output from the timing controlunit 10 and provide the same to the sub-pixels PXs. The touch drivingunit 40 may receive a touch sensing signal through a plurality ofsensing lines SL1 to SLm and detect a touch input on the basis of thereceived touch sensing signal.

A plurality of sub-pixels PXs is disposed on the display panel 50. Thesub-pixels PXs may be arranged in, for example, a matrix form on thedisplay panel 50.

Each sub-pixel PX may be electrically connected to corresponding gateline and data line. The sub-pixels PX may emit light with luminancecorresponding to the gate signals and the data signals supplied throughthe gate lines GL1 to GLn and the data lines DL1 to DLm.

Each sub-pixel PX may display any one of the first to third colors.According to an aspect, each sub-pixel PX may display any one of red,green, and blue colors. According to another aspect, each sub-pixel PXmay display any one of cyan, magenta, and yellow colors. In variousaspects, the sub-pixels PXs may be configured to display any one of fouror more colors. For example, each sub-pixel PX may display any one ofred, green, blue, and white colors.

The display panel 50 may be configured in an in-cell touch type panelcapable of sensing a touch input. For example, the display panel 50 maybe configured to include a common electrode that is driven by receivinga common voltage during a display period within one frame, and receivinga touch scan voltage during a touch detection period temporallyseparated from the display period within one frame. In this aspect, aplurality of sub-pixels PXs disposed on the display panel 50 may begrouped in a predetermined unit to form a touch block TB.

The touch block TB may include two or more sub-pixels PX. The commonvoltage for displaying an image during the display period and the touchscan voltage for detecting a touch during the touch detection period maybe applied to a common electrode of sub-pixels PXs constituting thetouch blocks TB. The common electrode may operate as a display drivingelectrode driving a liquid crystal together with a pixel electrodeduring the display period, and may operate as a touch sensing electrodedetecting a touch position during the touch detection period. The touchblocks TBs may be sequentially driven for one frame, but are not limitedthereto.

The timing control unit 10, the gate driving unit 20, the data drivingunit 30, and the touch driving unit 40 may be each configured as aseparate integrated circuit (IC) or may be configured as an integratedcircuit in which at least a part thereof is integrated. For example, atleast one of the data driving unit 30 and the touch driving unit 40 maybe integrated with the timing control unit 10 to be configured as anintegrated circuit.

In addition, although the gate driving unit 20 and the data driving unit30 are shown as components separate from the display panel 50 in FIG. 1,at least one of the gate driving unit 20 and the data driving unit 30may be configured in an in-panel manner as to be formed integrally withthe display panel 50. For example, the gate driving unit 20 may beintegrally formed with the display panel 50 according to a gate in panel(GIP) manner.

FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing an area of the display panelshown in FIG. 1. Specifically, FIG. 2 specifically shows an arrangementrelationship of a data line DL, a gate line GL, and a sensing line SLprovided on the display panel 50. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagramillustrating a touch block TB of the display panel shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the display panel 50 according to an aspectincludes a plurality of sub-pixels PXs, and gate lines GL1, GL2, and GL3and data lines DL1, DL2, DL3, DL4, and DL5 that apply gate signals anddata signals to the plurality of sub-pixels PXs, respectively.

The gate lines GL1, GL2, and GL3 extend in a first direction DR1 betweenrows of sub-pixels. Each of the gate lines GL1, GL2, and GL3 transmitsthe gate signal applied from the gate driving unit 20 to the sub-pixelsPXs connected thereto.

The data lines DL1, DL2, DL3, DL4, and DL5 extend in a second directionDR2 substantially perpendicular to the first direction DR1 betweencolumns of sub-pixels. Each of the data lines DL1, DL2, DL3, DL4, andDL5 transmits the data signal applied from the data driving unit 30 tothe sub-pixels PXs connected thereto.

The sensing lines SL1, SL2, SL3, SL4, and SL5 are disposed to beoverlapped with the data lines DL1, DL2, DL3, DL4, and DL5,respectively. Each of the sensing lines SL1, SL2, SL3, SL4, and SL5 maybe connected to corresponding common electrodes CE1, CE2, CE3, and CE4.The common electrodes CE1, CE2, CE3, and CE4 may be disposed one-to-onewith respect to the touch blocks TB1, TB2, TB3, and TB4.

The sensing lines SL1, SL2, SL3, SL4, and SL5 receive a common voltageand transmit the same to the common electrodes CE1, CE2, CE3, and CE4during a display period, and receive a common touch scan signal andtransmit the same to the common electrodes CE1, CE2, CE3, and CE4 duringthe touch detection period.

According to an aspect, each of the sensing lines SL1, SL2, SL3, SL4,and SL5 may be configured with a plurality of sub-sensing lines SL11,SL12, SL13, SL21, SL22, SL23, SL31, SL32, SL33, SL41, SL42, SL43, SL51,SL52, and SL53. As shown in FIG. 3, one sub-sensing line SL11, SL12,SL13, SL21, SL22, SL23, SL31, SL32, SL33, SL41, SL42, SL43, SL51, SL52,or SL53 may be connected one to one to one common electrode CE1, CE2,CE3, or CE4 provided in one sub-pixel PX. That is, one sub-sensing lineSL11, SL12, SL13, SL21, SL22, SL23, SL31, SL32, SL33, SL41, SL42, SL43,SL51, SL52, or SL53 may be electrically connected to one commonelectrode CE1, CE2, CE3, or CE4.

In FIG. 2, each of the sensing lines SL1, SL2, SL3, SL4, and SL5 isconfigured with three sub-sensing lines SL11, SL12, SL13, SL21, SL22,SL23, SL31, SL32, SL33, SL41, SL42, SL43, SL51, SL52, and SL53, but thisaspect is not limited thereto. That is, according to various aspects,the number of sub-sensing lines SL11, SL12, SL13, SL21, SL22, SL23,SL31, SL32, SL33, SL41, SL42, SL43, SL51, SL52, and SL53 constitutingone sensing line SL1, SL2, SL3, SL4, or SL5 may be variously determinedaccording to the size of the display panel 50 and the number ofsub-pixels per unit area.

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating a layout of a sub-pixel according toan aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan viewillustrating area AA of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view takenalong a line I-I′ of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view takenalong a line II-IF of FIG. 5. Here, sub-pixels PX1 and PX2 illustratedin FIGS. 4 to 7 are disposed in different touch blocks TB1 and TB2,respectively, and disposed adjacent to each other at the boundary oftouch blocks TB1 and TB2.

Referring to FIGS. 4 to 7, each of the sub-pixels PX1 and PX2 includesan opening area OA in which an image is displayed by an electric fieldbetween a pixel electrode PE and a common electrode CE, and anon-opening area NOA that has a driving element, for example, a thinfilm transistor TFT, disposed for driving the common electrode CE andthe pixel electrode PE of the opening area OA and that surrounds theopening area. Here, the opening area OA may be a display area in whichan image is displayed, and the non-opening area NOA may be a non-displayarea in which an image is not displayed.

The pixel electrode PE and the common electrode CE are disposed in theopening area.

The pixel electrode PE forms an electric field with a common electrodeCE to which a common voltage is applied during a display period in oneframe. The pixel electrode PE includes branch portions PEas arrangedside by side at equal intervals and a stem portion PEb connecting thebranch portions PEa to each other. The pixel electrode PE is generallyformed in the opening area OA, and may be arranged in such a manner asto extend from the opening area OA to the non-opening area NOA.

The common electrode CE may be formed widely in the touch blocks TB1 andTB2.

The data line DL, the gate line GL, and the thin film transistor TFT maybe disposed in the non-opening area NOA.

The data line DL extends along a second direction DR2 in the non-openingarea NOA between the sub-pixels PX1 and PX2. The gate line GL extendsalong a first direction DR1 in such a manner as to cross the non-openingarea NOA of the sub-pixels PX1 and PX2. In order to clarify thedescription of this aspect, the sensing line SL is not illustrated.However, the sensing line SL may be disposed in the non-opening area NOAbetween the sub-pixels PX1 and PX2. The sensing line SL may be arrangedto be overlapped with the data line DL.

The thin film transistor TFT includes a gate electrode GE connected tothe gate line GL, a source electrode SE connected to the data line DL,and a drain electrode DE spaced apart from the source electrode SE. Thedrain electrode DE of the thin film transistor TFT may be connected tothe pixel electrode PE through a contact hole.

According to an aspect, each of the sub-pixels PX1 and PX2 may furtherinclude a dummy line FL. The dummy line FL extends along the seconddirection DR2 in the non-opening area NOA between the sub-pixels PX1 andPX2. The dummy line FL may be arranged to be overlapped with the dataline DL.

According to an aspect, the dummy line FL may be at a floating state insuch a manner as to be electrically separated from other wires and/orelectrodes of a circuit element. Herein, when the data signal is appliedto the data line DL, the data voltage corresponding to the data signalmay be transferred to the dummy line FL. When an electric field isformed between the pixel electrode PE and the dummy line FL to which thedata voltage is transferred, a disclination occurs in the liquid crystaltilted by the electric field between the pixel electrode PE and thecommon electrode CE, so that the image may not be correctly displayed.In addition, since the dummy line FL extends along the second directionDR2 at the boundary of the sub-pixels PX1 and PX2, a vertical band-likedefect may occur in the display panel 50.

According to this aspect, in order to solve the above-described problem,the dummy line FL is connected the common electrode CE, so that thecommon voltage applied to the common electrode CE during the displayperiod is equally applied to the dummy line FL. Then, since the voltageof the dummy line FL is stabilized to the common voltage, it is possibleto resolve a vertical band-like defect caused due to the electric fieldeffect generated in the dummy line FL.

Hereinafter, a detailed stack structure of the sub-pixels PX1 and PX2described above with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 will be described indetail.

The substrate SUB may be a light transmitting substrate, as a basesubstrate of the display panel 50. The substrate SUB may be a rigidsubstrate including glass or tempered glass, or a flexible substratemade of plastic material. For example, the substrate SUB may be formedof plastic materials, such as polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate(PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate (PC), and the like.However, the material of the substrate SUB is not limited thereto.

An opening area OA and a non-opening area NOA are formed on thesubstrate SUB. The opening area OA may be defined as an area where animage is displayed according to an electric field between the pixelelectrode PE and the common electrode CE. The non-opening area NOA maybe defined as a driving element for driving the common electrode CE andthe pixel electrode PE of the opening area (OA), for example, an area inwhich a thin film transistor TFT and wirings are disposed.

A light blocking layer LS may be formed on the substrate SUB. The lightblocking layer LS is disposed to be overlapped with a semiconductorpattern of the thin film transistor TFT, particularly, a channel regionof the active layer ACT on a plane, thereby protecting the oxidesemiconductor device from external light.

The buffer layer BUF covers the light blocking layer LS. The bufferlayer BUF may prevent ions or impurities from being diffused from thesubstrate SUB and block moisture penetration. In addition, the bufferlayer BUF may improve surface flatness of the substrate SUB. The bufferlayer BUF may include an inorganic material such as oxide and nitride,an organic material, or an organic-inorganic complex material, and maybe formed in a single layer or multi-layer structure. For example, thebuffer layer BUF may have a structure of three or more layers consistingof silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and silicon oxide.

The active layer ACT is formed on the buffer layer BUF. The active layerACT may be formed of a silicon-based semiconductor material or anoxide-based semiconductor material. Amorphous silicon or polycrystallinesilicon may be used as the silicon-based semiconductor material. As theoxide-based semiconductor material, a quaternary metal oxide such asindium tin gallium zinc oxide (InSnGaZnO), ternary metal oxides such asindium gallium zinc oxide (InGaZnO), indium tin zinc oxide (InSnZnO),indium aluminum zinc oxide (InAlZnO), tin gallium zinc oxide (SnGaZnO),aluminum gallium zinc oxide (AlGaZnO), and tin aluminum zinc oxide(SnAlZnO), binary metal oxide such as indium zinc oxide (InZnO), tinzinc oxide (SnZnO), aluminum zinc oxide (AlZnO), zinc magnesium oxide(ZnMgO), tin magnesium oxide (SnMgO), indium magnesium oxide (InMgO),indium gallium oxide (InGaO), and signal metal oxide such as indiumoxide (InO), tin oxide (SnO), and zinc oxide (ZnO), and the like.

The active layer ACT may include a source region and a drain regioncontaining p-type or n-type impurities, and a channel formed between thesource region and the drain region.

A gate insulating layer GI may be formed on the active layer ACT. Thegate insulating layer GI may be silicon oxide (SiOx), silicon nitride(SiNx), or multiple layers thereof.

A first conductive layer is formed on the gate insulating layer GI. Thefirst conductive layer may include a gate electrode GE. The gateelectrode GE may be disposed to be overlapped with the channel of thecorresponding active layer ACT. The gate electrode GE is integrallyformed with a wiring electrically connected to the gate electrode GE,thereby forming one pattern. For example, the gate electrode GE may be abranched region of the gate line GL.

The insulating layer IL may cover the first conductive layer. Theinsulating layer IL may be silicon oxide (SiOx), silicon nitride (SiNx),or multiple layers thereof.

A second conductive layer is formed on the insulating layer IL. Thesecond conductive layer may include a source electrode SE and a drainelectrode DE. In addition, the second conductive layer may furtherinclude a data line DL. The source electrode SE and the drain electrodeDE may be connected to the source region and the drain region of theactive layer ACT, respectively. According to an aspect, at least one ofthe source electrode SE and the drain electrode DE may be formedintegrally with a wiring electrically connected, thereby forming onepattern. For example, the source electrode SE may be a branched regionof the data line DL.

A planarization layer PAC covers the second conductive layer. Theplanarization layer PAC may be provided to alleviate a step differencein the underlying structure. The planarization layer PAC may be formedof organic materials such as polyimide, benzocyclobutene series resin,and acrylate.

Although the illustration is omitted to clarify the description of thepresent aspect, the sensing line SL may be formed on the planarizationlayer PAC. The sensing line SL may consist of, for example, first tothird sub-sensing lines SL1, SL2, and SL3. At least some or all of thefirst to third sub-sensing lines SL1, SL2, and SL3 may be disposed to beoverlapped with the data line DL. The sensing line SL may be covered bythe first passivation layer PAS1.

According to this aspect, a third conductive layer is formed on thefirst passivation layer PAS1. The third conductive layer may include adummy line FL. The dummy line FL may be disposed to be overlapped withthe data line DL. The dummy line FL may be covered by the secondpassivation layer PAS2. In this aspect, the dummy line FL may beelectrically connected to a common electrode CE, which will be describedlater.

The common electrode CE is formed on the second passivation layer PAS2.The common electrode CE is formed wide in the opening area OA and thenon-opening area NOA in the respective touch blocks TB1 and TB2. Sincethe common electrode CE is formed on a per-touch block TB basis, thecommon electrode CE is separated from the boundary between the touchblocks TB1 and TB2. For example, the common electrode CE may be disposedso as not to be overlapped with the data line DL located at the boundaryof the touch blocks TB1 and TB2. However, this aspect is not limitedthereto.

According to an aspect, the common electrode CE may include an openingin at least one region. For example, the common electrode CE may have anopening in a region where the drain electrode DE and the pixel electrodePE are in contact. Accordingly, the electric field formed between thedrain electrode DE and the pixel electrode PE may be prevented fromaffecting the common electrode CE.

According to this aspect, the common electrode CE is electricallyconnected to the dummy line FL. Accordingly, the common voltage appliedto the common electrode CE during the display period in one frame istransmitted to the dummy line FL, so that the voltage of the dummy lineFL may be stabilized. According to this aspect, the common electrode CEmay be in direct contact with the dummy line FL through the contacthole, or may be electrically connected to the dummy line FL via a bridgeelectrode BRE, which will be described below.

A third passivation layer PAS3 may be formed on the common electrode CE.The first to third passivation layers PAS1, PAS2, and PAS3 may be asilicon oxide film (SiOx), a silicon nitride film (SiNx), or multiplelayers thereof, as insulating films for protecting the covered elements.

A pixel electrode PE may be formed on the third passivation layer PAS3.The pixel electrode PE is generally formed in the opening area OA, andmay be arranged to extend from the opening area to the non-opening area(NOA). According to an aspect, the pixel electrode PE may include branchportions PEas arranged side by side at the same interval and a stemportion PEb connecting the branch portions PEas. The pixel electrode PEis electrically connected to the drain electrode DE through a contacthole.

According to this aspect, a bridge electrode BRE may be further formedon the third passivation layer PAS3. The bridge electrode BRE is formedin a non-opening area NOA and may be an island-shaped electrode spacedapart from the pixel electrode PE. The bridge electrode BRE has oneregion connected to the common electrode CE and the other regionconnected to the dummy line FL. The bridge electrode BRE mayelectrically connect the common electrode CE and the dummy line FL.

As described above, according to the present aspect, the dummy line FLis connected to the common electrode CE, so that the common voltageapplied to the common electrode CE during the display period is equallyapplied to the dummy line FL. Then, since the voltage of the dummy lineFL is stabilized to the common voltage, it is possible to resolve avertical band-like defect caused due to the electric field effectgenerated in the dummy line FL.

A fourth passivation layer PAS4 may be provided on the third passivationlayer PAS3 to cover lower elements.

In the foregoing, it is described that the dummy line FL formed in thenon-opening area NOA between the sub-pixels PX1 and PX2 is connected tothe common electrode CE, at the boundary of the touch blocks TB1 andTB2, but the present aspect is not limited thereto. That is, in variousaspects, the dummy line FL formed in the non-opening area NOA of thesub-pixels PX disposed within the touch blocks TB1 and TB2 is connectedto the common electrode CE, thereby stabilizing the voltage.Hereinafter, this aspect will be described in more detail.

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating a layout of a sub-pixel according toanother aspect. FIG. 9 is an enlarged plan view illustrating an area BBof FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line of FIG.9. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line IV-IV′ of FIG.9. Herein, the sub-pixels PX3 and PX4 shown in FIGS. 8 to 11 arearranged to be adjacent each other in one touch block TB.

Referring to FIGS. 8 to 11, each of the sub-pixels PX3 and PX4 accordingto an aspect includes an opening area OA in which an image is displayedby an electric field between common electrodes CE, and a non-openingarea NOA that has a driving element, for example, a thin film transistor(TFT) disposed for driving the common electrode CE and the pixelelectrode PE of the opening area OA that surrounds the opening area.

A pixel electrode PE and a common electrode CE are disposed in theopening area.

The pixel electrode PE forms an electric field with a common electrodeCE to which a common voltage is applied during a display period in oneframe. The pixel electrode PE includes branch portions PEas arrangedside by side at equal intervals and a stem portion PEb connecting thebranch portions PEa to each other. The pixel electrode PE is generallyformed in the opening area OA, and may be arranged in such a manner asto extend from the opening area OA to the non-opening area NOA.

The common electrode CE may be formed widely in the touch block TB.

The data line DL, the gate line GL, and the thin film transistor TFT maybe disposed in the non-opening area NOA.

The data line DL extends along a second direction DR2 in the non-openingarea NOA between the sub-pixels PX1 and PX2. The gate line GL extendsalong a first direction DR1 in such a manner as to cross the non-openingarea NOA of the sub-pixels PX1 and PX2. In order to clarify thedescription of this aspect, the sensing line SL is not illustrated.However, the sensing line SL may be disposed in the non-opening area NOAbetween the sub-pixels PX1 and PX2. The sensing line SL may be arrangedto be overlapped with the data line DL.

The thin film transistor TFT includes a gate electrode GE connected tothe gate line GL, a source electrode SE connected to the data line DL,and a drain electrode DE spaced apart from the source electrode SE. Thedrain electrode DE of the thin film transistor TFT may be connected tothe pixel electrode PE through a contact hole.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each of the sub-pixelsPX1 and PX2 may further include a dummy line FL. The dummy line FLextends along the second direction DR2 in the non-opening area NOAbetween the sub-pixels PX1 and PX2. The dummy line FL may be arranged tobe overlapped with the data line DL. The dummy line FL is connected tothe common electrode CE, so that the common voltage applied to thecommon electrode CE during the display period is equally applied to thedummy line FL.

Hereinafter, a detailed stack structure of the sub-pixels PX3 and PX4described above will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 10and 11.

The substrate SUB may be a light transmitting substrate, as a basesubstrate of the display panel 50. The substrate SUB may be a rigidsubstrate including glass or tempered glass, or a flexible substratemade of plastic material

An opening area OA and a non-opening area NOA are formed on thesubstrate SUB. The opening area OA may be defined as an area where animage is displayed according to an electric field between the pixelelectrode PE and the common electrode CE. The non-opening area NOA maybe defined as a driving element for driving the common electrode CE andthe pixel electrode PE of the opening area (OA), for example, an area inwhich a thin film transistor TFT and wirings are disposed.

A light blocking layer LS may be formed on the substrate SUB. The lightblocking layer LS is disposed to be overlapped with a semiconductorpattern of the thin film transistor TFT, particularly, a channel regionof the active layer ACT on a plane, thereby protecting the oxidesemiconductor device from external light.

The buffer layer BUF covers the light blocking layer LS. The bufferlayer BUF may prevent ions or impurities from being diffused from thesubstrate SUB and block moisture penetration.

An active layer ACT is formed on the buffer layer BUF. The active layerACT may be formed of a silicon-based semiconductor material or anoxide-based semiconductor material. The active layer ACT may include asource region and a drain region containing p-type or n-type impurities,and a channel formed between the source region and the drain region.

A gate insulating layer GI may be formed on the active layer ACT. Thegate insulating layer GI may be silicon oxide (SiOx), silicon nitride(SiNx), or multiple layers thereof.

A first conductive layer is formed on the gate insulating layer GI. Thefirst conductive layer may include a gate electrode GE. The gateelectrode GE may be disposed to be overlapped with the channel of thecorresponding active layer ACT. The gate electrode GE is integrallyformed with a wiring electrically connected to the gate electrode GE,thereby forming one pattern. For example, the gate electrode GE may be abranched region of the gate line GL.

The insulating layer IL may cover the first conductive layer. Theinsulating layer IL may be silicon oxide (SiOx), silicon nitride (SiNx),or multiple layers thereof.

A second conductive layer is formed on the insulating layer IL. Thesecond conductive layer may include a source electrode SE and a drainelectrode DE. In addition, the second conductive layer may furtherinclude a data line DL. The source electrode SE and the drain electrodeDE may be connected to the source region and the drain region of theactive layer ACT, respectively. According to an aspect, at least one ofthe source electrode SE and the drain electrode DE may be formedintegrally with a wiring electrically connected, thereby forming onepattern. For example, the source electrode SE may be a branched regionof the data line DL.

A planarization layer PAC covers the second conductive layer. Theplanarization layer PAC may be provided to alleviate a step differencein the underlying structure. The planarization layer PAC may be formedof organic materials such as polyimide, benzocyclobutene series resin,and acrylate.

Although the illustration is omitted to clarify the description of thepresent aspect, the sensing line SL may be formed on the planarizationlayer PAC. The sensing line SL may consist of, for example, first tothird sub-sensing lines SL1, SL2, and SL3. At least some or all of thefirst to third sub-sensing lines SL1, SL2, and SL3 may be disposed to beoverlapped with the data line DL. The sensing line SL may be covered bythe first passivation layer PAS1.

According to this aspect, a third conductive layer is formed on thefirst passivation layer PAS1. The third conductive layer may include adummy line FL. The dummy line FL may be disposed to be overlapped withthe data line DL. The dummy line FL may be covered by the secondpassivation layer PAS2. In this aspect, the dummy line FL may beelectrically connected to a common electrode CE, which will be describedlater.

The common electrode CE is formed on the second passivation layer PAS2.The common electrode CE is widely formed in the opening area OA and thenon-opening area NOA in the touch block TB. According to an aspect, thecommon electrode CE may include an opening in at least one region. Forexample, the common electrode CE may have an opening in a region wherethe drain electrode DE and the pixel electrode PE are in contact.Accordingly, the electric field formed between the drain electrode DEand the pixel electrode PE may be prevented from affecting the commonelectrode CE.

According to this aspect of the present disclosure, the common electrodeCE is electrically connected to the dummy line FL. Accordingly, thecommon voltage applied to the common electrode CE during the displayperiod in one frame is transmitted to the dummy line FL, so that thevoltage of the dummy line FL may be stabilized. According to thisaspect, the common electrode CE may be in direct contact with the dummyline FL, or may be electrically connected to the dummy line FL via abridge electrode BRE, which will be described below.

A third passivation layer PAS3 may be formed on the common electrode CE.The first to third passivation layers PAS1, PAS2, and PAS3 may be asilicon oxide film (SiOx), a silicon nitride film (SiNx), or multiplelayers thereof, as insulating films for protecting the covered elements.

A pixel electrode PE may be formed on the third passivation layer PAS3.The pixel electrode PE is generally formed in the opening area OA, andmay be arranged to extend from the opening area to the non-opening area(NOA). According to an aspect, the pixel electrode PE may include branchportions PEas arranged side by side at the same interval and a stemportion PEb connecting the branch portions PEas. The pixel electrode PEis electrically connected to the drain electrode DE through a contacthole.

According to this aspect, a bridge electrode BRE may be further formedon the third passivation layer PAS3. The bridge electrode BRE is formedin a non-opening area NOA and may be an island-shaped electrode spacedapart from the pixel electrode PE. The bridge electrode BRE has oneregion connected to the common electrode CE and the other regionconnected to the dummy line FL. The bridge electrode BRE mayelectrically connect the common electrode CE and the dummy line FL.

As described above, according to the present aspect, the dummy line FLis connected to the common electrode CE, so that the common voltageapplied to the common electrode CE during the display period is equallyapplied to the dummy line FL. Then, since the voltage of the dummy lineFL is stabilized to the common voltage, it is possible to resolve avertical band-like defect caused due to the electric field effectgenerated in the dummy line FL.

A fourth passivation layer PAS4 may be provided on the third passivationlayer PAS3 to cover lower elements.

Those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosurepertains will appreciate that the present disclosure may be implementedin other specific forms without changing its technical spirit oressential features. Therefore, it should be understood that the aspectsdescribed above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive.The scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the scope of theclaims, which will be described later, rather than the detaileddescription, and it will be appreciated that all the changed or modifiedforms derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and theirequivalent concepts are included in the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device, comprising: a pixel electrodedisposed in an opening area; a common electrode having at least a regionoverlapping with the pixel electrode; a gate line extending along afirst direction in a non-opening area surrounding the opening area andtransmitting a gate signal to the pixel electrode; a data line extendingalong a second direction different from the first direction in thenon-opening area and transmitting a data signal to the pixel electrode;and a dummy line overlapping with the data line in the non-opening areaand electrically connected to the common electrode.
 2. The displaydevice of claim 1, wherein the dummy line receives a common voltagetransmitted to the common electrode during a display period of oneframe.
 3. The display device of claim 1, wherein the dummy line isdisposed between the data line and the pixel electrode.
 4. The displaydevice of claim 1, further comprising a bridge electrode connecting thecommon electrode and the dummy line.
 5. The display device of claim 4,wherein the bridge electrode and the pixel electrode are disposed on asame layer.
 6. The display device of claim 5, wherein the bridgeelectrode includes an island-shaped electrode separated from the pixelelectrode.
 7. The display device of claim 1, wherein the commonelectrode is disposed in each of touch blocks including a plurality ofsub-pixels.
 8. The display device of claim 7, wherein the dummy linedisposed at a boundary between the touch blocks each including theplurality of sub-pixels is electrically connected to the commonelectrode.
 9. The display device of claim 1, further comprising asensing line extending along the second direction in the non-openingarea and transmitting a common voltage or a touch scan voltage to thecommon electrode.
 10. A display device, comprising: a substrate on whichan opening area and a non-opening area surrounding the opening area aredefined; a first conductive layer disposed on the substrate andincluding a gate line extending along a first direction in thenon-opening area; a second conductive layer disposed on the firstconductive layer and including a data line extending along a seconddirection different from the first direction in the non-opening area; adummy line disposed on the second conductive layer and overlapping withthe data line in the non-opening area; a common electrode disposed onthe second conductive layer in the opening area; and a pixel electrodedisposed on the common electrode in the opening area, wherein the dummyline is electrically connected to the common electrode.
 11. The displaydevice of claim 10, further comprising a bridge electrode disposed on asame layer as the common electrode in the non-opening area andconnecting the common electrode and the dummy line.
 12. The displaydevice of claim 11, wherein the bridge electrode includes anisland-shaped electrode separated from the pixel electrode.
 13. Thedisplay device of claim 10, wherein the common electrode is disposed ineach of touch blocks including a plurality of sub-pixels.
 14. Thedisplay device of claim 13, wherein the dummy line disposed at aboundary between the touch blocks each including the plurality ofsub-pixels is electrically connected to the common electrode.
 15. Thedisplay device of claim 10, further comprising a sensing line extendingalong the second direction in the non-opening area and transmitting acommon voltage or a touch scan voltage to the common electrode.
 16. Adisplay device, comprising: a display panel in which a plurality ofsub-pixels, common electrodes each disposed corresponding to one or moreof the plurality of sub-pixels, and pixel electrodes of which at least aregion overlapping with the common electrode are disposed; a gatedriving unit applying a gate signal to the sub-pixels; a data drivingunit applying a data signal to the sub-pixels; and a touch driving unitapplying a common voltage or a touch scan voltage to the commonelectrodes, wherein the display panel includes: gate lines transmittingthe gate signals to the pixel electrodes; data lines transmitting thedata signals to the pixel electrodes; and dummy lines overlapping withthe data lines and electrically connected to at least one of the commonelectrodes.
 17. The display device of claim 16, further comprising abridge electrode disposed on a same layer as the common electrode andconnecting the common electrode and the dummy lines.
 18. The displaydevice of claim 17, wherein the bridge electrode includes anisland-shaped electrode separated from the pixel electrodes.
 19. Thedisplay device of claim 16, wherein each common electrode is disposed ineach of touch blocks including the plurality of sub-pixels.
 20. Thedisplay device of claim 19, wherein the dummy lines disposed at aboundary between the touch blocks each including the plurality ofsub-pixels is electrically connected to the common electrode.